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A call for volunteers: Garden group needs some help to grow

By Betsy Bloom 3 min read

IRON MOUNTAIN -- The Northwoods Garden Club needs some help in growing.

The club, first formed in 1989, has dwindled to only about a dozen members, said Sarah Nieschulz, club treasurer.

It's left the group short-handed on the beautification projects it typically handles each year -- plantings at the Dickinson County Courthouse, the greenspace in the 500 block of Carpenter Avenue in downtown Iron Mountain, Kingsford City Hall, the Gazebo Park on Woodward Avenue and the Kimberly Avenue corner, both in Kingsford as well.

While some outside assistance was found to fill the gaps during the spring planting season, they're looking for more people, either as members or volunteers, Nieschulz said.

Of the original 25 to 30 who started the garden club three decades ago, only Sally Jacobs remains, and she's had to reduce her role due to her age, she said.

"We all got old," said Jacobs, 89.

The COVID-19 years affected numbers as well, Nieschulz said. But Jacobs said it's been a gradual decline, as the "eager" group that established the club didn't get replaced when they stepped back.

"We really do need some young people … we need members," Jacobs said.

This year had an additional setback in that the club's usual source for flowers lost its supplier in Wisconsin, so they had to scramble to find an alternative, she said.

Funding for the plants comes from Dickinson County and the cities of Iron Mountain and Kingsford for their respective spaces.

But the club relies on donations and its annual Strawberry Social fundraiser, set this year for July 9 at Gazebo Park, to pay for other supplies and tending the sites through the summer.

They also recently approached Kingsford officials about converting the non-functioning fountain at City Hall into a planter by filling the basin with dirt. Taller species would go in so they would show up from behind the existing flowerbed, Nieschulz said.

This would be done in time to be in bloom for Kingsford's centennial celebration in August.

So Northwoods Garden Club has the work for anyone willing to pitch in, she said, adding this could be ideal for students looking to log volunteer hours.

Five Bishop Baraga Catholic School students "took some time out of summer break to help plant" at Gazebo Park and the Dickinson County Courthouse at the end of May, Nieschulz said.

Even those with no gardening experience would be welcome and given a role, "even taking flowers out of containers and handing them over for planting," she said.

She noted that when she became a member in 2004 she had a garden but didn't know much about the varieties of flowers and plants. Expertise is not required for membership.

Those interested in volunteering or perhaps joining the Northwoods Garden Club can call Nieschulz at 906-271-0026.

The club usually puts a coupon into The Daily News and AdVertiser seeking donations, but anyone who wants to make a contribution can contact her as well.

Finally, the club's usual live music performer for the Strawberry Social is not available, so Nieschulz is seeking a replacement for the event.

Betsy Bloom can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 240, or bbloom@ironmountaindailynews.com.

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